One of the most powerful mass movements in independent India, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) brought together thousands of people across the country from a myriad social strata and callings. The central role played by the communities of Narmada Valley, especially the Adivasis, in this decades-long struggle cannot be overstated; yet their lifelong contribution, struggles and sacrifices are neither well-recorded nor known today.
This first English translation of the Marathi original Ladha Narmadecha bridges that gap and sees the Andolan from the eyes of the Adivasis who fought to save their forest, their land and their jeeva dori—river Narmada itself.
Nandini Oza—a full-time NBA activist for over twelve years—records this untold history of the Andolan in the voices of two pivotal Adivasi leaders: Keshavbhau and Kevalsingh Vasave. Both project-affected oustees whose homes and villages were submerged by the Sardar Sarovar Dam, they talk about the history of the struggle, their own roles in it, the impact of the dam and the Andolan on Adivasi lives, the trauma of displacement and life in the resettlement sites. They talk about Adivasi culture and their sustainable, eco-friendly livelihoods on the banks of the Narmada—now lost. They interrogate the destructive development continuing for decades, and outline future challenges for the movement.
Underlined by humility, candour, dignity and humour, these interviews contain vital lessons for mass movements striving to empower those on the margins of democracy. They also foreground the critical importance of oral history, and show us that listening to memory can be as much a political act as a transformational one; an invaluable volume for all activists, students of ecology, sociology, anthropology, development studies and human rights.